Nasso (Take) Num. 4:21-7:89

This week's Torah portion is titled "Nasso", meaning "take". It spans Numbers 4:21-7:89. The text continues the census process that began in the first section of Numbers, and covers a great deal of subjects. The focus seems to continually circle back to cleanness and purity before God--speaking directly to both the challenges of our fallen condition, and the expectations required by a holy God.

One particular section discusses repentance and restitution when a person has sinned against another.

Confession would be an integral part of this process. Why would confession so regularly take place before man? Because so many of our offenses towards God resulted from our treatment of others. As such, there is an deep connection between our treatment of others, and the way in which we are treated by God. The reason that the flood fell upon the earth was due to the way in which people treated each other. The Scriptures state that the earth was filled with violence. This "chamas" was the root of "chametz", which is the leavening symbolizing sin. It is taught that the source of Israel's dispersions, as well as the Temple destructions resulted from the awful ways with which people treated and spoke about each other.

Several weeks ago, we saw that the Tzara'at affliction which relegated the offender to the outside of the camp resulted from evil speech committed against others. So we shouldn't be surprised when we read the words of Ya'acov (James), Yeshua's brother, say in 5:16, "confess your sins one to another." This week's reading contains within it an important text on the connection between grievances towards man and their effect on God. Num 5:6-7 states:

"Speak to the sons of Israel, 'When a man or woman commits any of the sins of mankind, acting unfaithfully against ADONAI, and that person is guilty, then he shall confess his sins which he has committed, and he shall make restitution in full for his wrong and add to it one-fifth of it, and give it to him whom he has wronged"

Here, you see that the way in which we treat one another is near and dear to the heart of God. The text states that a person sinning against another is not only being unfaithful to God. The word "ma'al" translated as "unfaithfully" actually means "treachery." Treachery towards man equates to treachery towards God. As the verse above states, one had to go above and beyond in order to rectify the situation.

A common mistake made by some attempting to walk out confession is to not take into consideration how the opposite party will be emotionally affected. One author writes the following:

"A husband should probably not say to his wife, 'I apologize for gazing at women whom I find more attractive than you.' Sometimes the desire to confess a sin to a person who does not know about the sin stems from a selfish desire to relieve one's own feelings of guilt." This is something to consider.

As we continue on this faith journey, let us be mindful of our neighbor, and the love God has desired that we show one another. Our treatment of others is watched closely by God